River Ridge Mall
River Ridge Mall is an enclosed shopping mall in Lynchburg, Virginia. Opened in 1980, the mall features JCPenney, Belk, and Regal Cinemas as its primary anchors, with Joann Fabrics, T.J. Maxx, and Planet Fitness serving as secondary anchors. Three restaurant outparcels include Red Lobster, Steak 'n Shake, and a local restaurant named Shakers, with a fourth outparcel being Salem, Virginia based Kemba Roanoke Federal Credit Union. A Residence Inn by Marriott is the mall's first on-site hotel. The mall is majority-owned by Liberty University and managed by CBRE Group. There is one vacant anchor building, formerly occupied by Macy's which closed in 2017, and an additional anchor building, formerly occupied by Sears that is currently serving as a call center for Liberty University Online and not presently operating as an anchor tenant. History River Ridge Mall opened in 1980 with Miller & Rhoads and Thalhimers. Sears and Leggett opened in 1981. JCPenney opened in 1983, two years later. Miller & Rhoads closed and became Montgomery Ward in 1990, which closed in 1997 and became Value City in 1999. In 1998, OfficeMax opened outside the mall. In 1992, the Thalhimers store was converted to Hecht's, which in turn became Macy's in 2006. Leggett became Belk in 1997. Value City closed in 2008 and was demolished for a new Regal Cinemas. As a result, the existing theater complex became a Planet Fitness. Joann Fabrics opened at the mall in November 2012, followed by T.J. Maxx in April 2013. Also in 2013, the Sears store closed. It was purchased by Liberty University, who planned to convert to a civic center, but engineers found the site unsuitable. On March 18, 2016 it was announced that Liberty University had purchased a 75% ownership position in the mall. In February 2016, it was announced that Marriott was building a Residence Inn on the spot the former Montgomery Ward Tire & Auto building which had been vacant for some time. This was be the first hotel constructed at the mall property, and will be one of only 4 outparcels at the mall. On January 4, 2017, Macy's announced the River Ridge location would be one of 100 underperforming stores it would be closing. Liberty University, majority owner of the mall, announced they would purchase the Macy's building and have been in talks with a new unnamed tenant for the property, pending closure on the agreement. In the same statement, Liberty chancellor Jerry Falwell, Jr., confirmed that the former Sears building would be demolished and replaced with an outdoor shopping experience. Both the new tenant for the former Macy's location and construction on the former Sears property are part of the University's overall plans for redevelopment of the shopping center. Anchors Current * Belk * JCPenney * Regal Cinemas * T.J. Maxx * Joann Fabrics Former * Macy's * Sears * Hecht's * Thalhimers Gallery Videos File:A Visit to River Ridge Mall|Mall Tour File:Tour and urbex of the Lynchburg Macy's during last day of operation - elevaTOUR|Macy's Closing Tour File:River Ridge Mall elevators in Lynchburg VA with DieselDucy|Elevator Tour Category:Malls in Virginia Category:Malls in the United States Category:Shopping Malls Category:Malls that opened in 1980 Category:Single-Level Malls Category:Malls with Multi-Level Stores Category:Former Thalhimers-anchored Malls Category:Former Hecht's-anchored Malls Category:Planet Fitness Locations Category:Former Value City-anchored Properties Category:Former Value City-anchored Malls Category:Former Leggett-anchored Malls Category:Former Miller & Rhoads-anchored Malls Category:Chick-fil-A Locations Category:Former Macy's-anchored Malls Category:Belk-anchored Malls Category:OfficeMax-anchored Properties Category:Regal Cinemas-anchored Malls Category:T.J. Maxx-anchored Properties Category:Joann Fabrics-anchored Malls Category:Former Sears-anchored Malls Category:JCPenney-anchored Malls